Black Friday: 3 Tips to Maximize your Savings.

Save with credits and/or insurance? That's also possible! Contact the credit intermediaries/insurance brokers of Poupança no Minuto and find out how. Or first read how to save on Black Friday.

Budget and list must be intrinsic steps.

When it comes to shopping consciously, the first step should always be identifying the needs and budgeting them.

If you go shopping without knowing what you are looking for and the maximum amount you can spend, it is easier to get lost, bring non-essential products, and spend (unnecessarily) more money.

So, start by understanding what is missing and is essential, which you can take advantage of to buy at lower prices on Black Friday, and, depending on the type of items, establish the financial limit you can reach with these purchases.  

Another step that can help you save is to bring your own bags with you for the day: currently, store bags have an additional cost, so instead of having to pay that extra amount for each purchase, you can prepare in advance.

Beware of "fake" discounts

“One must be attentive and think carefully before making a purchase decision. In some cases, prices were lower in the same store just a few days before the campaigns started," the alert is given by Deco Proteste, according to news shared by Notícias ao Minuto.

The consumer advocacy organization explains that some products, less than a month ago, had lower prices than they do now. Some stores are deliberately increasing the cost of products to promote a "fake" higher discount on Black Friday, using the "supposed recommended retail price" by the manufacturer (RRP), along with the price charged by the store, with or without a saving percentage.

Therefore, Deco Proteste recommends that consumers should be alert, as "some of the stores visited on November 2, during the pre-Black Friday campaigns, were using a form of comparative communication that does not comply with what the law provides for sales with price reduction".

Compare prices through the product's history

In order to understand if the values ​​indicated in the products have been inflated before the discount, and if they are a good deal, Deco Proteste refers that price comparison tools should be used.

If possible, this comparison should be made against my products in other stores, but also about the same product within the same store, historically.

For this, the organization has developed a tool that "helps to understand if the discounts announced during periods like Black Friday or Cyber Monday are good buying opportunities", since it "tracks the evolution of product prices in online stores, to advise whether or not to make the purchase", as stated in a publication shared by Notícias ao Minuto.

By using this tool, you should search for the store name and product name, or simply enter the link of the product from the online store. Then, the tool analyzes the result, resulting in a traffic light that will tell you the color and meaning of purchasing that product (based on the price history of the last 21 days):

If there is a green result, the business is good based on the analyzed price history; if it is yellow, the products are not very different in price compared to the previous 21 days, and in case of red, the organization advises against buying, as the product has had a lower price than the current one.

These are some tips to help you take advantage, focused on saving and avoiding scams, of the day of the year with the biggest discounts!